Flawed Yet Loved
By Sarah Walker
By Sarah Walker
She: Do not gaze at me
because I am dark
because the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?
because the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?
The Song of Solomon is a beautiful piece of poetry about two
lovers. While there are many ways to read this book, one possible way is to
look at it as the love between Jesus and us (believers in Him). With that in
mind, it seems there is something of value we can learn from this exchange. The
woman finds herself undesirable, yet the man tosses aside her self-made
assessments and declares his love for her anyways.
At times, we also find
ourselves focused on our flaws and shortcomings and arrive at the conclusion
that we are undesirable to Jesus. We
feel we have to make ourselves better in order to gain the love of Jesus. We have
to look better, act better, or be more like the people around us if we want
Jesus to give us even a second look. Like the woman in this book whose soul was
in love with the man, we might admit that our soul is in love with Jesus, yet we
may be too focused on all the ways that we are undesirable, and why someone
else would be a better companion for Him.
Yes, we are flawed. Yes, we need redemption and forgiveness. And
yes, we are loved by the very One our soul loves. When we look at our flaws, we
too might question why Jesus loves us the way He does. When we look at how He
loves us, right in the midst of our flaws, we too might notice a disconnect.
But rather than letting that disconnect draw us away from Jesus because we are
not worthy of Him…may we let it draw us towards Him because of His unfathomable
love for us.
Oh friends, what would it take to put our self-doubts aside for
even just a moment to hear what Jesus wants us to hear? Even if we don’t see it…He
loves us. He cherishes us. He calls us beautiful.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Which
will you focus on more today: Your value based on your flaws or your value that
Jesus, the lover of your soul, places on you?
Sarah is married to Scott and is a
full-time mom to their two young sons. She and Scott are involved in a small
group focused on prayer and are expecting to welcome their third son in
January.
